The Writing & Other Projects of Elizabeth Barrette

This poem came out of the June 6, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from librarygeek and Shirley Barrette. It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. This poem belongs to the series Polychrome Heroic.

Warning: This poem features an alternate-dimension version of a public figure, so if Real Person Fanfic squicks you, this may not be your thing. Also it doesn't directly mock an unpopular person, so if you're looking for rude political humor, that's in other poems.

"A Branching Path"

Donald's troubled natureshowed early, when he punched his second-grade music teacher, giving the man a black eye.

He was young enough to get more help than punishment, and the Sankofa Club was suggestedas a route to more tolerance.

Unfortunately that also got him involved with some of the rougher boys in Eastbord.

At 13, Donald and a friendsnuck into Manhattan to buy switchblades.

Donald's parents found outwhen he cut himself practicing.

They sent him a military school,which Donald later recounted ashaving assorted practices that were questionable at best and abusive at worse.

From the 1970s onward,he made free with women,amidst accusation that not allof that activity was consensual.

Donald had a fast-and-looserelationship with the truth in general,which was well known among his friends.

Once, at a drunken bachelor party,he claimed to have had his hand brokenby an outraged supervillain, but the groominsisted it had been a yachting accidentof a particularly embarrassing nature.

The accusation of a Mafia connectionwas almost entirely false. That is to say,Donald made overtures involving the controlof the concrete business in Eastbord, all of which were promptly and firmly rebuffed, and unlike his dealings with women, he knew to take no for an answer. His attempts at politics fared even worse.

Then there were the businesses.

Donald believed in taking risks and making mistakes and getting upto try again, which worked finebecause he was rich enoughto weather the bankruptcies.

There were four of them, and he still hadn't really learnedthat tribal councils were better at running casinos than he was.

He wasn't exactly the best at interracial relations, either,despite his Sankofa years.

He did get counseling after that,though, which taught him to gaugehis risk-benefit assessments better, and reminded him that his goal ofbeing popular would be easy if hewere a bit more compassionate.

So when the Rumpus Tower dealcame together for apartments housingtraumatized children and their families,Donald recalled a poster he had seen at the counseling office about the challengesfacing Polish immigrants in Eastbord.

He used his old Sankofa connections to find a translator and put out ads inthe Polish neighborhoods, then hiredmostly immigrant construction workers.

When he heard some of them talking about why they had immigrated to America, he sighed and gave all the employees applications for the apartments.

Thirteen families qualified.

It didn't really make Donaldany more money, but it didmake him feel helpful.

He still had a shaky graspon the truth, and wasn't alwaysrespectful of women or people of color,but he was getting better over time.

His life had taken a branching path,and sometimes Donald wonderedhow it could have gone differently,like that poem he'd had to readabout roads in a yellow wood.

He would've liked to be really rich, instead of only sort of rich, so thateveryone would have to suck up to himeven if they hated him, like they did with Oliver Tyndall (whose gold-plated wheelchairDonald secretly envied) over in Britannia.

He would've liked to be more powerful,like President Latheef of the Maldives,whom everyone listened to these dayswhether they agreed with him or not.

Donald wished for more out of life,but didn't everyone feel that way? The life he had might not be perfect, but it was okay.

His therapist insisted "okay" was a good thing.

* * *

Notes:

Scrunch (Oliver Tyndall) -- He has milky skin, ginger hair, and blue eyes. His body is shriveled and crumpled. He rides in a gold-plated wheelchair with red velvet cushions, customarily pushed by one of his bodyguards. He hates having to propel himself, and wears heavy rings on both hands to advertise the fact that he doesn't have to do the pushing. Unlike many disabled people who seek independence, he expects servants to do everything for him. Two of his bodyguards have superpowers: the fat one has Average (0) Super-Strength and Average (0) Toughness. The thin one has Good (+2) Teleportation. Oliver is a stamp collector, which he calls by its nickname "the hobby of kings." He lives in Britannia. Scrunch is a ruthless and troublesome supervillain. He enjoys building ever larger amounts of money and power, but of the two, he loves power more. The money he just kind of takes for granted, and he takes conspicuous consumption to whole new levels of creepiness. He enjoys manipulating people and forcing them to do things. He also meddles in politics, directing matters for his own personal aggrandizement. Scrunch just generally makes a bother of himself because he can. Due to his disability, it's difficult to find superheroes willing to deal with him. The task usually falls to Jack Union, who is perfectly willing to hit a man in a wheelchair.Qualities: Master (+6) Influential, Good (+2) Businessman, Good (+2) Philatelist, Good (+2) Strategist, Good (+2) ThoroughPoor (-2) ArrogantPowers: Expert (+4) Wealth, Good (+2) TelekinesisMotivation: Power.

Mamadou Latheef, President of the Maldives -- Elected after recent upheavals, President Latheef won on a progressive platform to stabilize Maldivian culture and ensure the survival of the nation in the face of climate change. He supports green energy, social programs, religious tolerance, and working with foreign interests for mutual benefit. While his people are wary about the religious tolerance, they recognize the urgent need to make allies if they are to survive. Mamadou has wavy black hair, black eyes, and brown skin. He is short, slim, soft-spoken, and overall unimposing. It's easy to underestimate him. He does not even realize that his exceptional way of understanding the future and influencing people are superpowers rather than ordinary skills.Origin: Mamadou was born with the ability to influence people, which has grown stronger with age and experience. The extrapolative gift grew in later, probably around puberty.Uniform: Business suit.Qualities: Master (+6) Politician, Expert (+4) Environmentalist, Expert (+4) Family Man, Expert (+4) Seaside Skills, Good (+2) Endurance, Good (+2) Muslim, Good (+2) Tolerant, Good (+2) WealthPoor (-2) Respect from Other NationsPowers: Average (0) Super-Extrapolation, Average (0) Super-diplomacyMotivation: Preserve the Republic of the Maldives.

* * *

Alternate Self is a TV trope often employed in alternate history. It explores how changes in historic events, environment, and/or life choices can impact a developing personality.

"Trump’s tendencies toward social ambition and aggressiveness were evident very early in his life, as we will see later. (By his own account, he once punched his second-grade music teacher, giving him a black eye.)"-- "The Mind of Donald Trump"

Sankofa Club is a multicultural club, named for an African symbol that means "If you forgot it, go back and get it." Sankofa grew out of the Civil Rights Movement and is a key source of T-America's better race relations. Many schools and community centers have a Sankofa Club, where members can present interesting bits of their own culture and explore those of their friends.

"His decision to send his 13-year-old son off to military school, so as to alloy aggression with discipline, followed Donald’s trip on the subway into Manhattan, with a friend, to purchase switchblades. As Trump tells it decades later, New York Military Academy was “a tough, tough place. There were ex–drill sergeants all over the place.” The instructors “used to beat the shit out of you; those guys were rough.”-- "The Mind of Donald Trump"

A loss leader may refer to items sold cheaply, or cheap items put in reach so thieves won't steal more expensive ones. It can also refer to minor misbehavior that is overlooked to provide a safety valve, thus reducing major misbehavior. In T-America, knives are considered a loss leader because a knife fight is more survivable than a gun fight, or worse, a cape fight. So you see a lot more people carrying knives, and occasionally getting into trouble with them.

"Donald Trump, on the "popularity poll" page of the 1964 New York Military Academy yearbook. The caption below his photo reads "Ladies' man: Trump."-- "Young Donald Trump Pictures"

"The breadth of Trump’s controversies is truly yuge, ranging from allegations of mafia ties to unscrupulous business dealings, and from racial discrimination to alleged marital rape. They stretch over more than four decades, from the mid-1970s to the present day. To catalogue the full sweep of allegations would require thousands of words and lump together the trivial with the truly scandalous. Including business deals that have simply failed, without any hint of impropriety, would require thousands more. This is a snapshot of some of the most interesting and largest of those scandals."-- "Donald Trump Scandals"

"Sexual-Assault AllegationsWhere and when: Various, 1970s-2005Even before the release of a 2005 video in which he boasted about sexually assaulting women—“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything,” he said, as well as “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything”—there’s a long line of allegations against Trump. Jill Harth says Trump assaulted her in the 1990s. Trump’s ex-wife Ivana Trump once suggested he had raped her, though she has since recanted her story. Former Miss Utah Temple Taggart said he kissed her on the lips inappropriately. But since the release, more women have come forward." -- "Donald Trump Scandals"

"Mafia Ties Where and when: New York and Atlantic City, 1970s- ?Many of the connections seem to be the sorts of interactions with mobsters that were inevitable for a guy in the construction and casino businesses at the time. For example, organized crime controlled the 1980s New York City concrete business, so that anyone building in the city likely brushed up against it."-- "Donald Trump Scandals"

"Risky decisions have also resulted in four Chapter 11 business bankruptcies involving some of his casinos and resorts."-- "The Mind of Donald Trump"

"The Four Bankruptcies Where and when: 1991, 1992, 2004, 2009The dirt: Four times in his career, Trump’s companies have entered bankruptcy.• In the late 1980s, after insisting that his major qualification to build a new casino in Atlantic City was that he wouldn’t need to use junk bonds, Trump used junk bonds to build Trump Taj Mahal. He built the casino, but couldn’t keep up with interest payments, so his company declared bankruptcy in 1991. He had to sell his yacht, his airline, and half his ownership in the casino.• A year later, another of Trump’s Atlantic City casinos, the Trump Plaza, went bust after losing more than $550 million. Trump gave up his stake but otherwise insulated himself personally from losses, and managed to keep his CEO title, even though he surrendered any salary or role in day-to-day operations. By the time all was said and done, he had some $900 million in personal debt.• Trump bounced back over the following decade, but by 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was $1.8 billion in debt. The company filed for bankruptcy and emerged as Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump himself was the chairman of the new company, but he no longer had a controlling stake in it.• Five years later, after the real-estate collapse, Trump Entertainment Resorts once again went bankrupt. Trump resigned from the board, but the company retained his name. In 2014, he successfully sued to take his name off the company and its casinos—one of which had already closed, and the other of which was near closing.-- "Donald Trump Scandals"

Reservation gaming is big business in L-America, and even bigger in T-America. Note that the nature of the bankruptcies remains similar across dimensions but the details vary, such as location of casinos and type of competition.

"The Undocumented Polish Workers Where and when: New York City, 1980The dirt: In order to construct his signature Trump Tower, the builder first had to demolish the Bonwit Teller store, an architecturally beloved Art Deco edifice. The work had to be done fast, and so managers hired 200 undocumented Polish workers to tear it down, paying them substandard wages for backbreaking work—$5 per hour, when they were paid at all. The workers didn’t wear hard hats and often slept at the site. When the workers complained about their back pay, they were allegedly threatened with deportation. Trump said he was unaware that illegal immigrants were working at the site."-- "Donald Trump Scandals"

"Assessing the truthfulness of the 2016 candidates’ campaign statements, PolitiFact recently calculated that only 2 percent of the claims made by Trump are true, 7 percent are mostly true, 15 percent are half true, 15 percent are mostly false, 42 percent are false, and 18 percent are “pants on fire.” Adding up the last three numbers (from mostly false to flagrantly so), Trump scores 75 percent. The corresponding figures for Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton, respectively, are 66, 32, 31, and 29 percent."-- "The Mind of Donald Trump"

Public housing and sheltered housing are fraught topics in L-America, usually looked down upon. They are intimately connected with poverty, trauma, and the risk of homelessness. Therefore, trauma-informed housing is an essential foundation to provide residence security to vulnerable people so that they can concentrate on healing. T-America has much more housing in these categories, and it is better quality, so it's not rare to see a big construction project in this field. Notice that it also tends to be integrated into diverse neighborhoods, hence the location of Rumpus Tower.

>> Shit. You weren't making any of the incidents up, just the final outcome. <<

The source events are all disturbingly real. 0_o His supporters really don't make decisions based on facts.

What I did was use the same "derive in, extrapolate out" routine that I employ for fanfic. I looked at the reported incidents, thought about what underlying personality traits those indicated, and then imagined how that would play out in a healthier society.

>> I wish my black cat *were* Schrodinger, and I could follow her home to T-America... <<

Something that ONLY gets discussed among others of the appropriate class or wealth? He really does separate Judaism as a religion from "those damn Jews who don't like ME because I won't donate to the RIGHT charities and say I lack class".

He doesn't think he's anti-Semitic BECAUSE that's the distinction in his head. But he does NOTHING to protect the immigrant Jews or anyone not in his family. Because Jews DO look at the charity donations, and he doesn't meet most Jewish standards for tzedakah. "Justice, justice shall you pursue" is considered at least a basic Noahide standard for a Gentile.

*nods* When you're not only publicly silent ex officio on a topic but actively, openly CENSOR it, that means you're consenting to what's going on. When that topic is bomb threats and other violence against a goodly chunk of my favourite people? In an America with a ratified Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments?

That's not *legally* treason, but *ethically* it sure as hell is... It is definitely a violation of his oat of office, and (with a sane Congress) impeachable as hell.

Not necessarily. One might have completely unrelated goals, and not pay any attention to the details -- for example, someone who liked censorship in general, disliked the media, or wanted to silence others to make more room for their own agenda. All kinds of things would get trampled in the process, and they wouldn't care which.

The practical effect (silencing a given topic) is similar, but overestimating support may cause prediction errors elsewhere (the person might well support the side they just stepped on if it served their interests, lacking a specific vendetta against it). This is different than someone with a definite grudge. And distinguishing these is not always easy.

>> When that topic is bomb threats and other violence against a goodly chunk of my favourite people? In an America with a ratified Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments? <<

Not a good thing.

>> That's not *legally* treason, but *ethically* it sure as hell is... It is definitely a violation of his oat of office, and (with a sane Congress) impeachable as hell. <<

I wonder if anyone is keeping a tally of impeachable offenses that the Head Embarrassment has committed.

>> Something that ONLY gets discussed among others of the appropriate class or wealth? He really does separate Judaism as a religion from "those damn Jews who don't like ME because I won't donate to the RIGHT charities and say I lack class". <<

Huh. I had not heard that.

>> He doesn't think he's anti-Semitic BECAUSE that's the distinction in his head. <<

Well, it's not anti-Semitism in principle, because it's not based on them being Jews, but on them displeasing him. Neither is it anti-Semitic to criticize Israel's actions.

>> But he does NOTHING to protect the immigrant Jews or anyone not in his family. <<

Depending on context and severity, this may qualify as anti-Semitism of action. Intent is not required for something to be discriminatory, but it does make a difference in solutions needed. Also, active harassment is worse than passive indifference to harms caused by others, and thus the former is easier to prove as discrimination than the latter.

>> Because Jews DO look at the charity donations, and he doesn't meet most Jewish standards for tzedakah. "Justice, justice shall you pursue" is considered at least a basic Noahide standard for a Gentile.<<

Distinguo! If "those damn Jews who don't like ME because I won't donate to the RIGHT charities and say I lack class" is a fair rendition of his thoughts and feelings, specifically condemning Jews who don't like him because (etc.) is anti-Semitic. Substitute "blacks" or "Muslims" or "women" for "Jews" there and judge your reaction.

Growing up in Atlantic City? I trusted the small businesses that had Family connections, as my family had told me, over anything to do with T.

I was told HOW to approach the small shopkeepers if I had problems on my way home from middle school, the types with signs for "ONLY 2 students at a time". I used that ONCE, for myself and two other female students being stalked by bigger males. AC used to have discounted student tickets for the jitneys, the local small buses, and that's how students traveled back and forth to school. School buses were to get to other schools, for swimming or shop classes.

Other students were more likely to be problems than adults. Going to public schools was actually the best insulation for my lack of social skills. No adult would mess with the smart, weird, but polite grandchild from my grandmother. She possibly was their boss, or that for some of their own families and kept the jobs and paychecks going during the Great Depression. :-/ ;-) Students, especially those males held back, didn't have the local history knowledge.

I was exhausted from anger last week. Needed him bound, from hurting others and hurting himself. Thanks to your parents for sponsoring this!

Hmmm... so, again not much difference in personality, but a big difference where he rubs up against the world.

I suspect someone from T-America would be horrified at the idea of Trump as president.

That, and now I'm wondering how I could have Scrunch and Captain Drake lock horns... because it would gall him to realise there are some things, and some people, you cannot buy. [I think I have an idea... but not the details yet.] and hey, Britain has it's own bigots, and I've been meaning to write something about the class divides here.

>> Hmmm... so, again not much difference in personality, but a big difference where he rubs up against the world. <<

Exactly. From one world to another, definitives stay the same -- the core of a person's nature -- and around that, intermediate traits can change substantially in response to context. It's the surface that changes the most, and from there, actions can vary greatly. But it's often still possible to recognize a soul, even if the body and the situation are quite different.

You can see a lot of that variation in Schrodinger's Heroes, which routinely deals with aspecting characters across dimensions.

>> I suspect someone from T-America would be horrified at the idea of Trump as president.<<

>> That, and now I'm wondering how I could have Scrunch and Captain Drake lock horns... because it would gall him to realise there are some things, and some people, you cannot buy. <<

So. Much. WIN. :D

>> [I think I have an idea... but not the details yet.] and hey, Britain has it's own bigots, and I've been meaning to write something about the class divides here. <<

Yeah, Scrunch is a classist prat. >_< You can really see it in how he treats his servants, and the tension between him and other disabled people, because he expects someone else to do damn near everything for him.

I'd imagine the fact that Drake comes from an Aristocratic background [although poor as church mice] would probably burn him up then... They're the flip-side of the aristo class, she sees her military service as her duty to her fellow country-(wo)men. She's all about serving others!

Hmm... one thing Drake has lacked from a narrative pov.. a nemesis. However, I think I can actually introduce this to my current story, albeit briefly, and use this to pin later ones together.

>> I'd imagine the fact that Drake comes from an Aristocratic background [although poor as church mice] would probably burn him up then...<<

Yes, yes it would.

>> They're the flip-side of the aristo class, she sees her military service as her duty to her fellow country-(wo)men. <<

So would this. Scrunch doesn't really feel a sense of duty to anyone other than himself.

>> Hmm... one thing Drake has lacked from a narrative pov.. a nemesis. However, I think I can actually introduce this to my current story, albeit briefly, and use this to pin later ones together. <<

That would be awesome! \o/ A lot of people really dislike Scrunch because he is so manipulative, and frequently disrupts other people's projects to divert money toward his own interests. The military probably hates him.

See, this is where it ties in with the current narrative. The Exeter's retrofit fusion reactors were sabotaged so the Naval review board would see extending her service life as unworkable, so they'd push the construction of a replacement class of airship.

I could see that Oliver would have absolutely no problems suborning an Admiral to do this, if it furthered his ends. [to whit having control over the production, supply etc of a large chunk of the Fleet Air Arm's force, earning him influence with them.]

Drake thwarting his plan would annoy him... her exposing him and embarrassing him in public, even more so. Although.. I'm not sure if she could actually prove his culpability. It would be better if she couldn't because then he could counter sue and it would have to settled on the field of honour. [since it's a question of reputation.]

Hmm... although duelling is still legal in T-Britannia, I'm not sure how that could be worked out. I suppose he'd have to hire a 'professional' to fight on his behalf.

>> See, this is where it ties in with the current narrative. The Exeter's retrofit fusion reactors were sabotaged so the Naval review board would see extending her service life as unworkable, so they'd push the construction of a replacement class of airship. <<

Right, I remember that. Any new class of construction tends to attract politicking.

>> I could see that Oliver would have absolutely no problems suborning an Admiral to do this, if it furthered his ends. [to whit having control over the production, supply etc of a large chunk of the Fleet Air Arm's force, earning him influence with them.] <<

That's definitely his style. >_<

>> Drake thwarting his plan would annoy him... her exposing him and embarrassing him in public, even more so. <<

\o/

>> Although.. I'm not sure if she could actually prove his culpability. It would be better if she couldn't because then he could counter sue and it would have to settled on the field of honour. [since it's a question of reputation.] <<

Proving connections is easy; he has his fingers in a great many pies, and everyone knows this. Proving that he committed a crime is much harder; Scrunch excels at fobbing off the blame on someeone else.

>> Hmm... although duelling is still legal in T-Britannia, I'm not sure how that could be worked out. I suppose he'd have to hire a 'professional' to fight on his behalf. <<

Like he does everything else. A drawback of his misbehavior is that most competent people want nothing to do with him. So that limits the quality of minion he can obtain. There's always someone who'll take the money, because he's rich and influential; but they're usually second-rate because the top-notch folks can get better deals elsewhere.

yes, I could see him hiring a professional duelest, one who's in deep to some shady people and needs a big payday quick... or too damn cocky to think he can lose maybe..

and Francis demolishes him. In detail. [go look up Sharpe's duel. Sean bean shows the difference between a duelest and a soldier.]

Then makes it very clear that should she and Scrunch 'cross swords' again, she won't let him hide behind other people, and she sees him as a disgrace to his class.

Hmm... you know, there's couple of other ideas I'll have to throw in as well... but so far The Exeter incident hasn't really shown much detail about Britannic society. Problem is.. all this will happen once they get back home.. which is at least a couple more episodes away.

>> yes, I could see him hiring a professional duelest, one who's in deep to some shady people and needs a big payday quick... or too damn cocky to think he can lose maybe.. <<

That would make a great example of how Terramagne trades on favors, and how someone like Scrunch makes deals.

>> and Francis demolishes him. In detail. [go look up Sharpe's duel. Sean bean shows the difference between a duelest and a soldier.] <<

Oh please, oh please. :D

>> Then makes it very clear that should she and Scrunch 'cross swords' again, she won't let him hide behind other people, and she sees him as a disgrace to his class. <<

Hah! Yes. There should be someone other than Jack Union willing to knock Scrunch on his infamous ass.

>> Hmm... you know, there's couple of other ideas I'll have to throw in as well... but so far The Exeter incident hasn't really shown much detail about Britannic society. Problem is.. all this will happen once they get back home.. which is at least a couple more episodes away.<<

«Sankofa Club is a multicultural club, named for an African symbol that means "If you forgot it, go back and get it."»Finally! You probably gave the origin of this word around whenever you introduced it, but I either didn't read that poem, didn't follow the link, or did and forgot about it. :-)